The Child Emperor

Hanguguan successively discovered Yunmengze assassins who were trying to sneak in, killed more than ten people on the spot, captured three alive, and sent them all to the capital.

In addition, the world is peaceful, and whether the year is good or bad, everyone is preparing for the new year.

Han Ruzi did not change the era name, but still used the word gongcheng. Next year will be special. In the first month of the year, the grand temple sacrifice will be held once every ten years. Since the ancestor, the tablets of the emperors of all dynasties can be sacrificed to the highest standard. The empress dowager and queen, as well as important princes and princesses, are also eligible to accompany the sacrifice.

Children from various clans came to Beijing one after another years ago. There were as many as 500 people, representing more than 100,000 descendants of the Han family in the world. For many people, this was the first time they really saw the current emperor.

When Han Ruzi ascended the throne, some princes came to Beijing to meet, but it was a formal occasion. The emperor was high above, and everyone was bowing down, and no one could see who was. This time, taking advantage of the New Year and the big festival, Han Ruzi wanted to recognize his relatives The clan must also recognize the emperor.

For three consecutive days, the emperor entertained the same clan in the palace. On the first day, the princes and clan elders were invited; the second day was mainly the princes; , Zongzheng's government draws up the list one month in advance to ensure that everything is safe.

Han Ruzi found that there are quite a few officials in his family. At least 30% of the county governors and about 20% of the county magistrates are held by the descendants of the Han family. There are more generals, but most of them are idle. Included in the recommended list by the Ministry of War.

Before the banquet on the first day, Han Ruzi took the list and said to the King of the East Sea, who arrived early: I always feel that there are too many hereditary officials in various places, but now I understand that the most hereditary people are from the royal family.

The King of the East Sea smiled and said, Isn't that what Taizu worked so hard to do to conquer the world?

Han Ruzi took a few glances at the East Sea King.

Donghai King was inexplicable, looked down at himself, the official uniform was spotless, there was no problem, he suddenly understood and smiled without saying a word.

Say whatever comes to mind, Han Ruzi ordered.

Does your Majesty think it's good for all the princes to be like me, stay in the capital honestly, and be able to go out with His Majesty and stay behind, but you will never cause trouble.

Han Ruzi laughed, the honesty of the King of the East Sea was only a recent matter, but he did speak to the emperor's mind.

The previous emperors divided the princes and appointed the children of the clan in order to stabilize the great Chu country. Now it seems that it is not very useful.

Can I tell the truth? Donghai Wang asked with a smile.

Say.

Hey, the so-called stable country is only a superficial rhetoric. The real reason is that everyone has relatives, and the emperor is no exception. Your Majesty will soon have a prince, and there will be more in the future. Your Majesty does not want his descendants to suffer. , of course, we need to divide the seals, and I don’t want them to be abolished for no reason in the future, so we can only protect the current princes and let the emperors in the future follow the example.

Han Ruzi said nothing, and the King of the East Sea smiled and said, Don't think about it, Your Majesty, I'm not begging for myself or others, I'm just telling the truth.

Han Ruzi nodded and said, You're right. He suddenly turned his head and said, Please? Are you referring to the king?

A few days ago, ten princes and kings joined together to plead for the king. Han Ruzi consulted with Zhao Ruosu and knew that this was a temptation by the princes. .

The King of the East Sea smiled and nodded.

Why didn't you attend when the ten kings interceded?

They did come to me, and I said, 'Your Majesty has his own measure, we don't need to worry about it, the king is just a child, and His Majesty won't have the same knowledge as him', but they didn't listen. The King of the East Sea took himself out, and casually said a good word for the king.

Han Ruzi understood as soon as he heard it, You are now interceding for the king.

The King of the East Sea said sternly: I am not calling it 'pleading', but 'truth'. I am always by His Majesty's side, I know His Majesty, and know His Majesty is strict outside and wide. How can people think of taking revenge on a child who can't make his own decisions?

You're right. Han Ruzi smiled.

The King of the East Sea laughed, vaguely feeling that the emperor seemed to have other intentions, and he couldn't figure it out for a while.

The banquet of the kings was set in a large hall behind the Tongxuan Hall. There were nearly a hundred guests, including twenty-one princes, ten elders of the clan, and the others were the heirs and grandsons of the princes.

When the emperor arrived, everyone was already seated, and they were divided into four rows, two rows on the left and right, sorted by status and seniority, and those of the same generation were ranked according to how close they were to the current emperor.

The atmosphere was rather restrained at first, but fortunately, the ceremonial officer of Zongzheng's mansion presided over everything, and the princes and kings came forward to meet and toast the emperor one by one, saying something like longevity without boundaries.

Han Ruzi maintained the majesty of the emperor, nodded his head, and picked up the wine glass for a moment. He didn't need to drink. In fact, there was an empty glass in front of him, and there was not a drop of wine in it, so that the emperor could not hold the glass steady and lose his temper for a while. , or choking on alcohol.

Looking around, Han Ruzi sighed secretly. The twenty-one princes were either too old or too young. The only people who were in their prime were the King of the East Sea.

The ten kings who jointly pleaded for mercy were all older, and the youngest was over fifty years old.

With the example of Han Chou first, everyone's performance was quite satisfactory, and there was no extraordinary behavior such as kneeling and crying.

The banquet itself was very bland, and it was not even worth writing about in the history books. There was only one special thing that the historian would not record, but everyone present at the time was deeply impressed in the future.

On the right hand side closest to the emperor, there was an empty table, which was reserved for the king of England.

King Ying was the youngest son of Emperor Wu, and he lived abroad, but so far he has not been able to find it. There are several princes who could not come to the capital in person for various reasons. Only King Ying enjoyed the treatment of empty seats.

This was specially arranged by Han Ruzi to show that he had the clan in mind and would not retaliate because of competition.

The young king also came, and a close relative of the royal family served as the guardian. When he met the emperor, he stammered, but when he returned to his seat, he was not very honest. He used chopsticks to pull a few dishes. Very focused, completely unaware of his own special.

Under the leadership of several old kings, the atmosphere slowly became active. Family gatherings and conversations were always inseparable from their ancestors. Emperor Huan died young, and he was the father of the current emperor.

Emperor Wu has been in power for more than 40 years and has held family banquets many times. When he was young, he was very quick-tempered. Once he drank too much and had to wrestle with a prince in the main hall. Historians would never record this episode. The princes remembered it clearly, and they still talk about it with relish.

Afterwards, did you wrestle? Han Ruzi was also very interested.

King Yan, who brought up this incident, replied, How dare the princes dare to tease the emperor? The prince pretended to be drunk, staggered after getting up, and fell down. Emperor Bo Wu smiled and the matter was over.

The more stories about Emperor Wu he heard, the more Han Ruzi envied his grandfather. Emperor Wu didn't seem to have as many troubles as him, and he easily grasped the power. The only question left was how to use it.

The weather, location, and people were all concentrated in Emperor Wu's dynasty, and Han Ruzi couldn't compare.

After three rounds of drinking, Han Ruzi called the young princes and the grandsons of the old king one by one, asked a few questions, encouraged them, and gave some small gifts.

This is an arranged procedure, and every step is very smooth, but when it comes to acting as the king, a little accident occurs.

The king has already met the emperor. This is the second time he has come to the emperor. After returning his name and age, and waiting for the gift, he suddenly said: Your Majesty is so good, why did someone say that His Majesty wants to kill me?

The atmosphere in the hall cooled down immediately, and no amount of charcoal basins could be reversed. Everyone was instantly quiet, and the princes bowed their heads and said nothing. His face changed suddenly, he turned and knelt on the seat, choked on a sip of wine, and kept coughing and coughing.

Han Ruzi didn't expect that a child would say such a thing, he couldn't help but froze for a moment, wanted to ask who said this, but immediately changed his mind and said with a smile, That's the adults playing with you, have you ever been naughty? , or refuse to sleep at night?

The king nodded vigorously.

That's why your lord uses such words to scare you so that you can obey.

So that's the case. Dai Wang smiled, I won't be afraid if I scare me in the future.

But you have to be obedient, the adults are for your own good. Han Ruzi was a little serious.

The king nodded more forcefully, I'm obedient, especially your Majesty's words.

Such an ordinary flattery, said by a child, has a miraculous effect. Han Ruzi laughed, and the other princes also laughed. The atmosphere suddenly returned to normal. Only the king looked puzzled and did not understand everyone. What are you laughing at.

Han Ruzi waved his hand and asked Dai Wang to come to his side, got up and took his hand, and said loudly: Dai Wang's father and brother died early, and they lost their parents at a young age. , With the king protecting the king, my heart can be at ease.

Handing over a young prince to the care of another prince, this kind of thing rarely happens, the emperor didn't say it before, everyone in the hall was surprised, but no one objected, several old princes even He praised, and at the same time carefully hinted that he was too old to bear the heavy responsibility of protecting the king.

Han Ruzi already had a candidate in his heart, his eyes swept across, fell on the King of the East Sea, and said with a smile: The King of the East China Sea is my younger brother, he is always with me, and is the most intimate, so it's up to you to watch the King Protector.

The King of Donghai had guessed that the emperor had ulterior motives, and kept bowing his head and did not dare to respond, but he was still called by his name. Let me take care of the king, I am afraid that I have more than my heart but not enough strength.

It doesn't matter, the king doesn't need to live in your mansion, you just need to visit the king from time to time and fulfill the responsibilities of father and brother.

The King of Donghai had to laugh and stepped forward, took the King Dai from the emperor, led him to his seat, and sat down beside him. In the eyes of everyone, he had to be amiable, so he reached out and touched the King Dai's head lightly twice. .

Don't break my beads. Dai Wang tilted his head to avoid.

The King of the East Sea did not like this child at all.

The ten kings are testing the emperor, and the emperor is also testing the ten kings. He has already given an answer to the intercession. Next, according to the reactions of the kings, he must find out where their bottom line is.